1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to room air cleaners or purifiers, and, more particularly, to an air cleaner that is mounted to a ceiling or a similar overhead surface in a room, and that provides a high velocity, multi-directional air exhaust pattern so as to circulate and filter substantially all of the air within the room.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In recent years there has been a growing interest to improve environmental air conditions in homes and in commercial settings such as offices, restaurants, laboratories, hospitals and the like. As more information has been made available to the public concerning the hazards of indoor pollution, there has been an increased demand for filtering devices which can be used to effectively improve air quality.
As the number of indoor airborne pollutants has increased, an increased number of complaints of respiratory infections, burning eyes, allergies, asthma attacks and other symptoms have been directly attributed to the pollutants. One only need to consider the types of airborne particles which are inhaled by the average person on a daily basis in indoor environments to understand that the problem of airborne pollutants is ever increasing and its side effects growing. People are constantly inhaling particles of dust, smoke, pollen, molds, acids, bacteria, carbon and the like. Accordingly, it has become necessary in many environments, such as in hospitals, laboratories, scientific research rooms and the like, to provide filtering equipment which will substantially remove all airborne pollutants.
Consequently, a great demand has been made for products which can provide for clean air conditions both in homes and commercial settings. Unfortunately, many of the products which have been advertised, distributed and sold for individual consumers and businesses have not been effective. Although these products have been advertised as being capable of removing substantially all foreign particles from the air, in fact, such claims have not been supported by actual testing results. Some available room air cleaners utilize filtering materials which only remove perhaps up to 85% of the one micron or larger particles from the air. Such units do not remove smaller particles such as those contained in smoke and dust, and also do not adequately remove larger pollutants such as pollens and fungus spores.
The advent of high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters has provided an advantage over the known filter media in that HEPA filters more effectively remove pollutants from the air. In addition, it has been found that HEPA filters effectively operate for longer periods of time without becoming excessively clogged due to their increased pollutant retaining capacities. Therefore, these filters offer substantial cost savings to the consumer.
Although air cleaner units including HEPA filters are available, these units have not provided sufficient air circulation to meet the stringent requirements of larger, open commercial environments such as in hospitals, workshops, office space where personnel are separated by dividers, and laboratories. In these environments, it is necessary that air cleaners create an air flow such that essentially all of the air within a room is frequently circulated through the filter media to ensure the continuous removal of pollutants.